Mishra and Vihari keep domestic flag flying high

The teams have begun to take stock of their gains and losses as the Indian Premier League enters an interesting phase. Delhi Daredevils and Pune Warriors can see the dead end not in the far distance.

They will have to perforce go through the motions with little gains from their experience thus far.

These two teams have struggled to stay afloat. The stalwarts have not delivered and that has hurt the team’s chances hugely.

In terms of investment for the future too there has been little progress as foreign recruits have excelled and served the teams better.

The domestic ‘talent’ has withered after blossoming early. Manan Vohra, Manpreet Singh Grewal, Siddharth Trivedi, Mandeep Singh have managed to shine once, which, by any standard, cannot be rated high.

Inconsistency has been a consistent feature involving the Indian ‘stars’ and fringe cricketers, like the much-hyped Ambati Rayudu and Unmukt Chand, have looked out of place against quality bowlers.

Overseas players have shown greater commitment and winning form.

Michael Hussey, with four Man-of the-match performances, has propelled Chennai Super Kings while Chris Gayle has guided Royal Challengers Bangalore with three Man-of the-match trophies thus far.

But the most pleasing show, from the Indian perspective, has come from leg-spinner Amit Mishra and young stroke-player Hanuma Vihari, both keeping Sunrisers Hyderabad in the fray.

At 30, Mishra, a wily leg-spinner, is an enviable combination of rich experience and talent to fox batsmen. With 14 wickets in this IPL, the Haryana bowler is enjoying his cricket.

“It is important to perform when the team has such faith in you. For me, individual awards don’t matter if the team doesn’t win. The winning moment is important for me,” said Mishra, who has hardly received recognition for his brilliant show all these years.

Mishra, Man-of the-match thrice, has become more innovative.

“You have to be fresh and have to come up with new ideas. I do all that a spinner can do. I vary pace and flight, use the crease, because my strength is taking wickets. I like beating the batsman by flight. You can see the spinners have matured in the IPL with experience and have come to command respect,” noted the leg-spinner.

For 19-year-old Vihari, the IPL platform is a medium to showcase his talent to a big audience.

Two match-winning roles have endeared him to his team management.

In the opinion of V.V.S. Laxman, the youngster is worthy of “investment” for the future.

“He has very good temperament and that is very essential to succeed as an international cricketer. He also has the right technique to play spin and fast. He’s got a lot of potential,” said Laxman.

As the IPL gains momentum, attention will be focused on performers like Mishra and Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma; even as the domestic talent spread over nine teams looks to make some impact in this edition of the IPL where bowlers have compelled batsmen to share space.

The bat-ball battle is set to intensify.

Super Kings cut Warriors down to size

Dhoni pilots CSK to match-winning total; Mohit Sharma impresses yet again

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s power-packed knock sent Pune Warriors India crashing to its eighth defeat in 10 outings in their Pepsi-IPL-VI encounter here on Tuesday.

The Chennai Super Kings skipper’s audacious 45 not out off just 16 deliveries with four fours and three sixes piloted his team to 164 before the nervous home team tripped and fell to reach 127 for nine in reply.

For CSK, Ravindra Jadeja bowled the first over and Albie Morkel the second in a spin-pace gambit. By the time Mohit Sharma completed his three-wicket act, forcing Aaron Finch to nick behind, trapping T. Suman with a ball seaming into the pads off the very next and deceiving Yuvraj Singh with away movement, PWI had lost the plot at the Sahara stadium.

Three run-outs hastened the slide, Suresh Raina’s pick-up and dive to leave Robin Uthappa short of the crease the perfect example of the intensity CSK brought to the middle. With 16 points from 10 games, the Chennai side widened the gap at the top of the table while PWI remained at the bottom with four points from 10 games.

Having a blast

CSK set a challenging target of 165, helped by Dhoni’s blast (45 not out, 16b, 4x4, 3x6). The skipper unleashed his trademark blows while top-scorer Raina (63 not out off 50 balls) kept the fielders busy with placements and sweep shots and giving his partner a major share of the strike.

The aggressive approach and effortless hitting saw the duo add 62 off the last five overs.

After Dhoni opted to bat, Michael Hussey came off second best for once.

The left-hander began with a classic extra-cover drive off leg-spinner Rahul Sharma but soon lost his off-stump, beaten by Kane Richardson’s raw pace. Wriddhiman Saha got down to business with a breathtaking shot off the same bowler, clearing long-off with a sizzling drive on the rise.

Saha fell to an over-ambitious sweep against Rahul, bringing S. Badrinath to the crease in the sixth over — enough time to leave his mark on the game. CSK struggled to 29 for two in six overs and 55 for two in 10.

Outstanding spell

The PWI attack looked positive and purposeful, sticking to coach Allan Donald’s plan of containment. Bhuvneshwar was simply outstanding in his first spell (3-1-12-0) once again.

Badrinath and Raina fashioned the turnaround, rattling up a half-century stand off 43 balls with a mixture of placements, aggressive running and occasional slogs.

Raina got inside the line to send Richardson over mid-wicket for a six while Badrinath kept dealing in singles at the other end. PWI had matters in control till the 15th over, restricting the visitors to 101.

At this stage, Badrinath (34 off 31 balls) left and Dhoni strode in. The CSK skipper began with an astonishing six over extra-cover off Luke Wright before a slower one from Ashoke Dinda was slog-swept over long-on.

The final ball of the innings from Dinda soared over the sightscreen as Dhoni’s men gained sweet revenge for the shock loss they suffered to PWI at home in their first leg encounter.

Scoreboard

Chennai Super Kings: Michael Hussey b Richardson 5 (8b, 1x4), Wriddhiman Saha lbw b Rahul 13 (15b, 1x4, 1x6), Suresh Raina (not out) 63 (50b, 5x4, 1x6), S. Badrinath c Smith b Wright 34 (31b, 2x4), M.S. Dhoni (not out) 45 (16b, 4x4, 3x6); Extras (lb-2, w-2): 4; Total (for three wkts. in 20 overs): 164.

Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Hussey), 2-28 (Saha), 3-103 (Badrinath).

Pune Warriors India bowling: Rahul Sharma 4-0-27-1, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-1-24-0, Kane Richardson 4-0-35-1, Ashoke Dinda 4-0-41-0, Abhishek Nayar 3-0-23-0, Luke Wright 1-0-12-1.

Pune Warriors India: Robin Uthappa (run out) 10 (11b, 1x6), Aaron Finch c Dhoni b Mohit 15 (9b, 2x4, 1x6), Tirumalasetti Suman lbw b Mohit 0 (1b), Yuvraj Singh c Dhoni b Mohit 5 (4b, 1x4), Steve Smith c & b Jadeja 35 (39b, 3x4), Luke Wright (run out) 2 (6b), Abhishek Nayar (run out) 2 (4b), Kane Richardson c Raina b Morris 26 (20b, 2x4, 1x6), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (not out) 24 (24b, 1x4, 1x6), Rahul Sharma c Raina b Bravo 0 (1b), Ashoke Dinda (not out) 2 (2b); Extras (lb-1, w-4, nb-1): 6; Total (for nine wkts. in 20 overs): 127.

Fall of wickets: 1-26 (Finch), 2-26 (Suman), 3-29 (Uthappa), 4-43 (Yuvraj), 5-54 (Wright), 6-61 (Nayar), 7-92 (Smith), 8-118 (Richardson), 9-124 (Rahul).

Chennai Super Kings bowling: Ravindra Jadeja 4-0-26-1, Albie Morkel 3-0-20-0, Mohit Sharma 4-0-21-3, Chris Morris 3-0-21-1, R. Ashwin 2-0-20-0, Dwayne Bravo 4-0-18-1.

Man-of-the-match: M.S. Dhoni.

Sharing knowledge helps the team: Kumble

Many believe Anil Kumble is one among the last set of gentlemen cricketers.

He played the game the way it was designed to be played. Kumble was competitive and aggressive but never crossed the line. To him, being competitive meant conceding no quarter to the opponent. Being aggressive meant giving it back to the rival without a word or a stare. Being a gentleman never meant showing up as meek or submissive.

Having lived the ultimate dream of any bowler to claim a ‘Perfect 10’ in a Test innings, Kumble went on to lead the Indian team with a fair amount of success. He gave up international cricket when his fans were still asking. “Why?” In the past couple of years, Kumble has been busy in putting Karnataka’s cricket in order. Concurrently, he is also part of the Mumbai Indians team as a ‘mentor’. But his role is more than what the word suggests.

Strategic role

“My role, call me mentor or whatever, is basically a long term strategy for the franchise, whenever there is full auction I come in and put the whole team in place, put in the support staff. In this particular IPL, where you are required to strategise, support the captain and the various players in terms of cricketing aspects, it is important to be someone who understands the game, and also a little bit of administration.”

Explaining his functions, Kumble says, “The aim is to win the IPL and (for that) how best you can provide the players the right space. I am basically the owner’s representative. IPL is totally different from the regular T20 tournaments. So many matches, ups and downs, large squads, manage the players’ motivational level, different venues and different surfaces. It’s all about the understanding the game. Of course, there is no blue print for winning the championship.”

Throwing light on the team meetings, Kumble says, “I play a role there give my inputs in the team meetings and ideas to the coach and the captain. The aim is to help the younger lot mature and manage the pressures of the IPL. That is the bigger challenge. You do well in one game and then how do you manage the fame and the pressures.”

Great feeling

Asked about the presence of several illustrious names in the dressing room, Kumble sounds excited. “It’s great to have such wealth of experience. That is another thing I have to channelise to the benefit of the team. Sachin’s knowledge of the IPL helps. Nice to get John (Wright) into the Indian set up. Fresh ideas from John will help. Sharing knowledge helps the team, especially the youngsters. Some (players) you have admired as opposition and to have them in your side is a great feeling.”

It is certain that some in the dressing room take pride, and some others feel fortunate, in sharing the space with such a humble cricketer.

Team for Champions Trophy on Saturday

The final Indian squad for the ICC Champions Trophy, to be held in June in England and Wales, will be picked by the national selectors here on May 4, the BCCI announced on Monday.

The five-man selection panel headed by Sandeep Patil will prune the list of 30 probables already selected to half its size for the June 6-23 tournament.

The selectors had dropped Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh when they picked the probables on April 6, but have the option to choose players from outside the list. India and South Africa are scheduled to kick off the contest on June 6 in a Group B match.

India will take on the West Indies at the Kennington Oval in London on June 11 and then conclude the four-team group engagement on June 15 against -rival Pakistan at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

The list of probables:

Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir, Unmukt Chand, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Ajinkya Rahane, A. Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, M.S. Dhoni, Wriddhiman Saha, Dinesh Karthik, R. Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja, Jalaj Saxena, Parveez Rasool, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashoke Dinda, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Irfan Pathan, Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar, I.C. Pandey and Siddharth Kaul.

Afridi dropped from Pakistan squad for Champions Trophy

Flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi and batsman Umar Akmal were the prominent names to be axed from the 15-member Pakistan cricket squad announced for the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy in England.

Chief selector Iqbal Qasim announced the squad on Monday in Lahore after lengthy deliberations although the selectors had finalised it last week and submitted it to the board Chairman for approval.

At the end of the day, it transpired that the selectors made two changes to their submitted squad replacing injured middle-order batsman Haris Sohail with Umar Amin and preferring to pick left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz over Aizaz Cheema.

The rest of the squad remained the same and Qasim said that Afridi was dropped because of his recent poor bowling form.

“Afridi’s bowling has not been up to the mark in recent matches. He has not taken wickets and his primary role in the team is that of a bowler,” Qasim told a press conference.

The same set of players with the addition of a few more are expected to get the central contracts for the year 2013.

The Pakistan Cricket Board also announced that Australian Trent Woodhill would be the batting coach of the team for the Champions Trophy and would join them in England.

Woodhill is presently on the coaching staff of the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL.

Yesterday, the two major exclusions remained Afridi and Umar, who went to South Africa for the recent one-day series, and the inclusion of uncapped pacer Asad Ali.

Asad has toured with Pakistan on recent tours to India and South Africa without getting a chance to play any match.

The source said selectors relied on experience after consulting the captain and coach.

Qasim said Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali, Ehsan Adil and Wahab are the five pacers selected in the squad while the spin department will be handled by Abdul Rehman and Saeed Ajmal.

“The selectors have also given a final warning to senior pros Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal to gear up and perform or consider the Champions Trophy their last tour with the national team,” he said.

Interestingly Afridi was also given a similar warning when the squad was announced for the one-day series in South Africa but he went wicketless.

Pakistan will play one-day series in Scotland and Ireland in May before going to England for the Champions Trophy.

This will be their first visit to England since the 2010 spot-fixing scandal and they are placed with South Africa, India and West Indies in their group.

Pakistan squad: Nasir Jamshed, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq (Capt), Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Kamran Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali, Ehsan Adil and Wahab Riaz.

Ambati Rayudu — a livewire on the field

Ambati Rayudu played a cameo against Delhi Daredevils at the Wankhede Stadium, and since then the right-hander has hardly scored runs.

Opportunities have come far less to show his class on a consistent basis having to cede the No. 5 spot to Kieron Pollard.

Last Saturday he did not get a chance to take strike against Royal Challengers Bangalore with Virat Kohli’s sharp throw, and possibly R. Vinay Kumar’s lower limb blocking his path (not deliberate though), defeating him at the bowler’s end. Rayudu left the field stunned.

With the Indian team for the ICC Champions Trophy to be announced on Saturday, the 27-year-old’s collection of 91 runs in nine matches is not likely to attract much attention. But then twice he did not get to bat and once he faced a single delivery.

Rayudu has not allowed such circumstances to make him careworn; he has on the contrary been a conscientious fielder and a livewire on the field. Though much of the focus has been on Pollard as far as catching abilities go, starting with the stupendous catch he took to send back M.S. Dhoni at the MAC Stadium, Rayudu stole the thunder on two occasions in the last three days.

Rayudu ended RCB’s Chris Gayle’s presence in the middle with a super catch at deep mid-wicket. He was aware of the possibility of touching the boundary rope or even slipping over the line, but he adjusted his body wonderfully well to hold the catch. Then on Monday, he charged in from deep mid-wicket, took a superb catch to dismiss Kings XI Punjab’s Piyush Chawla. It was only his third catch of this season.

There is no gainsaying the fact that Rayudu is endowed with gifts to bat and field and even lead, qualities that were evident when he was part of the India under-19 team. He seems to have made the Twenty20 cut, selected as a replacement for Manoj Tiwary against England. But he did not get a game.

Tough competition

Will he be lucky enough to make the Champions Trophy squad? Competition would be stiff for middle order slots, but it would be interesting to see how the present selection committee, which has dropped big players, respond to a new challenge in the form of picking the squad for probably the last Champions Trophy.

Compelling studies in contrast

• 
  The HinduChris Gayle.
• 
  The HinduMichael Hussey .

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Chris Gayle and Michael Hussey, the storm and the calm, have grabbed headlines and influenced matches in IPL-VI.

While their ability is undoubted, the fact that they are openers have enabled the two race ahead as the leading run-getters so far in this edition. After all, men at the top of the order have several things going for them in this format. In a 20-over game, the openers, potentially, have the opportunity to bat the entire innings. They also have the chance to pace their effort, consolidate on starts.

Top-order advantages

And then they are around when the six overs of Power Play with their field restrictions are in play.

On the sluggish Indian tracks, they can, crucially, harness the pace of the ball in the initial overs too.

To be fair to these men, they may also have to counter some early movement for the pacemen. There might also be occasions during a daunting chase when they might have to open out straightaway.

Yet, everything said, the top-order has a definite advantage in the abbreviated form of the game.

This is precisely why most sides have at least two of their best batsmen in the first three slots to make the most of the overs.

Gayle of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings’ Hussey are for sure the top batsmen in their sides. Apart from both being left-handed, the two are excellent studies in contrast.

The 33-year-old Jamaican is explosive, can wade into the attack with the ease of a jet slicing through clouds. Yet, Gayle, with 484 runs from 10 matches at 80.66, has mixed moments of caution with raw aggression.

Some might have second thoughts about the word ‘caution’, given his incredible strike rate of 166.89, but Gayle has kept the good deliveries out while launching into the less threatening stuff.

Big hitting

Gayle has smashed a mind-boggling 36 sixes so far, apart from finding the boundary on 43 occasions. In the process, he has dented egos, damaged figures.

Hussey does not demoralise an attack in the manner of a Gayle but slices it open with the expertise of a surgeon.

The numbers tell the story of their methods. The 37-year-old Australian has 445 runs in eight games at a whopping 74.16. But then, he has found the ropes as many as 51 times while crossing it only (in comparison to Gayle) 10 times.

The southpaw has held the CSK innings together, displayed the cricketing acumen to bat differently in different situations.

That Hussey can essay the horizontal bat shots or sashay down the wicket or just open the face of the willow for the jab and the steer forces the opposing captain to think before setting his field.

Daredevils send Warriors to the bottom

The route to the stadium was dotted with policemen. Posted at vantage spots, they guided the cricket fans, both braving the heat, contributing to making the process an occasion to remember. The stands were packed, cricket was good in patches, but Delhi Daredevils, the home team, had a lot to gain from the Indian Premier League contest. DD won by 15 runs to move to the second last spot in the table, ahead of Pune Warriors.

Daredevils’ batting woes remained. The team stuttered on a decent pitch before recovering through David Warner’s brilliant assault that saw the innings boosted by 63 runs in the last five overs. DD had struggled to organise its middle overs and Warner was assigned a new role to specifically produce the big shots, which he did with flourish and lived up to his image of a busy stroke-player.

A crowd of 45,000 celebrated the biggest cricket match in this region at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium.

Many among them would have travelled more than 45km to see some big names from the world of cricket.

Warner entertains

And Warner entertained them on Sunday. His charge was the saving grace for Daredevils on a night when Virender Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene failed to produce the magic at the top. Unmukt Chand’s dismal run continued as he chose the wrong ball to cut.

Warner, the Man-of-the-match, waded into the bowling, clouting the ball into the stands. Jadhav joined the party with two straight sixes.

Daredevils, with 68 runs from the first 10 overs, added 96 in the next 10 and registered a total that gave the bowlers some cushion.

However, they had to contend with a confident Robin Uthappa and Aaron Finch.

Uthappa and Finch gave Pune Warriors just the start it needed before both departed in succession. Uthappa fell to a superb catch and Finch went to a poor caught-behind decision, the ball grazing the hip. Daredevils hung in even as Pune Warriors mounted a spirited chase. It remained close as the runs were not easy to come by.

The PWI batsmen attempted some brave shots but Umesh Yadav swung it Daredevils’ way with the wickets of Luke Wright and Yuvraj Singh in an over.

These strikes proved crucial and Daredevils did well to win the first match on its ‘adopted’ home turf.

The crowd loved it, so did the teams, with credit to curator Shamim Mirza for producing one of the better pitches in this edition of the IPL.

Rajasthan Royals keeps home record intact

Sanju Vizhwanadh leads the way with an enthralling half-century

There’s some mystery surrounding his name but his style remains unambiguous.

Sanju Vishwanadh (or Samson, as he’s popularly known) made an enthralling 63 off 41 balls on Monday, a knock which ensured Rajasthan Royals kept its 100 per cent home winning record intact with a four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. For the record, the Kerala batsman claims he changed his surname from Samson to Vishwanadh.

Ajinkya Rahane’s early dismissal brought the 18-year-old to the crease and his initial shots to the boundaries, like attractive twins, came in twos.

Two pairs of consecutive fours off Vinay Kumar, the first bunch on the on-side and the latter on the off, were followed by successive sixes off Murali Kartik.

Dravid’s departure in the seventh over brought Shane Watson to the crease and the Australian proceeded to form a 68-run alliance with Vishwanadh off 46 balls.

Hodge joined his fellow countryman afterwards and hit two sixes off Rampaul in the 17th to bring down the required equation from 30 in 3 overs to 13 in 2.

Frayed nerves

Watson was dismissed in the following over by R.P. Singh and RR lost a couple of wickets more in the 20th by Vinay to fray the nerves a little. However, with three needed off two deliveries, Stuart Binny pulled the bowler’s slower delivery for a four and brought his side level on points with RCB in the league table.

Virat Kohli’s team is still winless outside Bengaluru and yet again its bowlers failed to contain the opposition’s explosive batsmen.

Earlier, Chris Gayle presented his usual fare to lead his team to 171 after Dravid chose to put the opposition into bat for the second game running. Though he was dismissed in the 4th over by Shane Watson, the West Indian finished as his side’s top-scorer with a powerful 34 off 16 balls.

Gayle’s assault

Gayle’s innings began with a marked tentativeness and yet he scored three fours off Ajit Chandila in the opening over. An edge, a gentle push and a sweep, which made him slip dramatically, brought the initial rewards for the opener.

The full strength assault was in order by the time S. Sreesanth came to bowl the third over and he was dispatched for another couple of fours in addition to a six.

However, Gayle exited the arena when his loose cut found Vishwanadh’s gloves off Watson in the following over.

The West Indian’s dismissal reduced the boisterous party to a calm evening function for the elderly as no boundaries came for seven overs.

A.B. de Villiers did manage to change the innings’ tempo with two fours off Chandila in the 11th but departed soon afterwards when he was caught at deep point by Faulkner off Sreesanth.

Virat Kohli and Moises Henriques too perished in an attempt to increase the run-rate but three sixes in the final over by Vinay spoilt birthday boy Faulkner’s figures.

Scoreboard:

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Abhinav Mukund b Trivedi 19 (21b, 1x4), Chris Gayle c Vishwanadh b Watson 34 (16b, 6x4, 1x6), Virat Kohli c Faulkner b Watson 32 (35b, 3x4), A.B. de Villiers c Faulkner b Sreesanth 21 (13b, 3x4), Moises Henriques (run out) 22 (19b, 2x4, 1x6), Saurabh Tiwary (not out) 8 (8b), Ravi Rampaul c Samson b Watson 3 (4b), Vinay Kumar (not out) 22 (6b, 3x6); Extras (lb-5, w-3, nb-2): 10; Total (for six wkts. in 20 overs): 171.

Fall of wickets: 1-44 (Gayle), 2-66 (Mukund), 3-99 (de Villiers), 4-123 (Kohli), 5-145 (Henriques), 6-149 (Rampaul).

Rajasthan Royals bowling: Ajit Chandila 4-0-39-0, James Faulkner 4-0-42-0, S. Sreesanth 4-1-35-1, Shane Watson 4-0-22-3, Siddharth Trivedi 3-0-20-1, Stuart Binny 1-0-8-0.

Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid b Henriques 22 (17b, 4x4), Ajinkya Rahane c Singh b Rampaul 2 (7b), Sanju Vishwanadh c Kartik b Rampaul 63 (41b, 7x4, 2x6), Shane Watson c de Villiers b Singh 41 (31b, 3x4, 1x6), Brad Hodge b Kumar 32 (18b, 1x4, 2x6), Stuart Binny (not out) 6 (3b, 1x4), Owais Shah (run out) 1 (1b), James Faulkner (not out) 1 (1b); Extras (lb-3, w-2): 5; Total (for six wkts. in 19.5 overs): 173.

Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Rahane), 2-48 (Dravid), 3-116 (Samson), 4-162 (Watson), 5-167 (Hodge), 6-168 (Shah).

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Ravi Rampaul 4-1-28-2, R.P. Singh 4-0-35-1, Vinay Kumar 3.5-0-39-1, Moises Henriques 2-0-6-1, Murali Kartik 3-0-32-0, Jaydev Unadkat 3-0-30-0.

Man-of-the-match: Sanju Vishwanadh.

Rajasthan Royals tame RCB

Rajasthan Royals kept its 100 per cent home winning record intact with a four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore during the IPL T20 match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on April 29, 2013.

Rajasthan Royals keeps home record intact

There’s some mystery surrounding his name but his style remains unambiguous.

Sanju Vishwanadh (or Samson, as he’s popularly known) made an enthralling 63 off 41 balls on Monday, a knock which ensured Rajasthan Royals kept its 100 per cent home winning record intact with a four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. For the record, the Kerala batsman claims he changed his surname from Samson to Vishwanadh.

Ajinkya Rahane’s early dismissal brought the 18-year-old to the crease and his initial shots to the boundaries, like attractive twins, came in twos.

Two pairs of consecutive fours off Vinay Kumar, the first bunch on the on-side and the latter on the off, were followed by successive sixes off Murali Kartik.

Dravid’s departure in the seventh over brought Shane Watson to the crease and the Australian proceeded to form a 68-run alliance with Vishwanadh off 46 balls.

Hodge joined his fellow countryman afterwards and hit two sixes off Rampaul in the 17th to bring down the required equation from 30 in 3 overs to 13 in 2.

Frayed nerves

Watson was dismissed in the following over by R.P. Singh and RR lost a couple of wickets more in the 20th by Vinay to fray the nerves a little. However, with three needed off two deliveries, Stuart Binny pulled the bowler’s slower delivery for a four and brought his side level on points with RCB in the league table.

Virat Kohli’s team is still winless outside Bengaluru and yet again its bowlers failed to contain the opposition’s explosive batsmen.

Earlier, Chris Gayle presented his usual fare to lead his team to 171 after Dravid chose to put the opposition into bat for the second game running. Though he was dismissed in the 4th over by Shane Watson, the West Indian finished as his side’s top-scorer with a powerful 34 off 16 balls.

Gayle’s assault

Gayle’s innings began with a marked tentativeness and yet he scored three fours off Ajit Chandila in the opening over. An edge, a gentle push and a sweep, which made him slip dramatically, brought the initial rewards for the opener.

The full strength assault was in order by the time S. Sreesanth came to bowl the third over and he was dispatched for another couple of fours in addition to a six.

However, Gayle exited the arena when his loose cut found Vishwanadh’s gloves off Watson in the following over.

The West Indian’s dismissal reduced the boisterous party to a calm evening function for the elderly as no boundaries came for seven overs.

A.B. de Villiers did manage to change the innings’ tempo with two fours off Chandila in the 11th but departed soon afterwards when he was caught at deep point by Faulkner off Sreesanth.

Virat Kohli and Moises Henriques too perished in an attempt to increase the run-rate but three sixes in the final over by Vinay spoilt birthday boy Faulkner’s figures.

Scoreboard:

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Abhinav Mukund b Trivedi 19 (21b, 1x4), Chris Gayle c Vishwanadh b Watson 34 (16b, 6x4, 1x6), Virat Kohli c Faulkner b Watson 32 (35b, 3x4), A.B. de Villiers c Faulkner b Sreesanth 21 (13b, 3x4), Moises Henriques (run out) 22 (19b, 2x4, 1x6), Saurabh Tiwary (not out) 8 (8b), Ravi Rampaul c Samson b Watson 3 (4b), Vinay Kumar (not out) 22 (6b, 3x6); Extras (lb-5, w-3, nb-2): 10; Total (for six wkts. in 20 overs): 171.

Fall of wickets: 1-44 (Gayle), 2-66 (Mukund), 3-99 (de Villiers), 4-123 (Kohli), 5-145 (Henriques), 6-149 (Rampaul).

Rajasthan Royals bowling: Ajit Chandila 4-0-39-0, James Faulkner 4-0-42-0, S. Sreesanth 4-1-35-1, Shane Watson 4-0-22-3, Siddharth Trivedi 3-0-20-1, Stuart Binny 1-0-8-0.

Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid b Henriques 22 (17b, 4x4), Ajinkya Rahane c Singh b Rampaul 2 (7b), Sanju Vishwanadh c Kartik b Rampaul 63 (41b, 7x4, 2x6), Shane Watson c de Villiers b Singh 41 (31b, 3x4, 1x6), Brad Hodge b Kumar 32 (18b, 1x4, 2x6), Stuart Binny (not out) 6 (3b, 1x4), Owais Shah (run out) 1 (1b), James Faulkner (not out) 1 (1b); Extras (lb-3, w-2): 5; Total (for six wkts. in 19.5 overs): 173.

Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Rahane), 2-48 (Dravid), 3-116 (Samson), 4-162 (Watson), 5-167 (Hodge), 6-168 (Shah).

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Ravi Rampaul 4-1-28-2, R.P. Singh 4-0-35-1, Vinay Kumar 3.5-0-39-1, Moises Henriques 2-0-6-1, Murali Kartik 3-0-32-0, Jaydev Unadkat 3-0-30-0.

Man-of-the-match: Sanju Vishwanadh.

Daredevils send Warriors to the bottom

David Warner's big hitting took Delhi Daredevils to a match-winning total against Pune Warriors. Photo: PTI

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The route to the stadium was dotted with policemen. Posted at vantage spots, they guided the cricket fans, both braving the heat, contributing to making the process an occasion to remember. The stands were packed, cricket was good in patches, but Delhi Daredevils, the home team, had a lot to gain from the Indian Premier League contest. DD won by 15 runs to move to the second last spot in the table, ahead of Pune Warriors.

Daredevils’ batting woes remained. The team stuttered on a decent pitch before recovering through David Warner’s brilliant assault that saw the innings boosted by 63 runs in the last five overs. DD had struggled to organise its middle overs and Warner was assigned a new role to specifically produce the big shots, which he did with flourish and lived up to his image of a busy stroke-player.

A crowd of 45,000 celebrated the biggest cricket match in this region at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium.

Many among them would have travelled more than 45km to see some big names from the world of cricket.

Warner entertains

And Warner entertained them on Sunday. His charge was the saving grace for Daredevils on a night when Virender Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene failed to produce the magic at the top. Unmukt Chand’s dismal run continued as he chose the wrong ball to cut.

Warner, the Man-of-the-match, waded into the bowling, clouting the ball into the stands. Jadhav joined the party with two straight sixes.

Daredevils, with 68 runs from the first 10 overs, added 96 in the next 10 and registered a total that gave the bowlers some cushion.

However, they had to contend with a confident Robin Uthappa and Aaron Finch.

Uthappa and Finch gave Pune Warriors just the start it needed before both departed in succession. Uthappa fell to a superb catch and Finch went to a poor caught-behind decision, the ball grazing the hip. Daredevils hung in even as Pune Warriors mounted a spirited chase. It remained close as the runs were not easy to come by.

The PWI batsmen attempted some brave shots but Umesh Yadav swung it Daredevils’ way with the wickets of Luke Wright and Yuvraj Singh in an over.

These strikes proved crucial and Daredevils did well to win the first match on its ‘adopted’ home turf.

The crowd loved it, so did the teams, with credit to curator Shamim Mirza for producing one of the better pitches in this edition of the IPL.

Teams proving hard to beat at home

We are at the half-way mark of the IPL and it’s the first time in the competition’s five year history that I’ve noticed teams doing exceptionally well at home.

We’ve just played the first of six consecutive games on the road, and unfortunately it didn’t go well for us against Mumbai, who like us, have also been invincible at home so far. Today we face Rajasthan Royals, another undefeated side at home who have also not managed to pull off an away win just yet.

It’s difficult to pinpoint what exactly is behind this sudden case of team’s proving to be hard to beat on their home turf in the IPL. In football, we know how much the home and away factor is played up especially in the UEFA Champions League where an away goal, as they say, counts for double.

But talking cricket and the IPL in particular, I think it’s logical that when you’re at home, you are more accustomed to those conditions, especially if you play two or three games in a row before you travel. On the road, it’s quite different.

The nature of the IPL’s schedule is such that you normally find yourself reaching the venue of an away fixture barely 24 hours before the game. For example, I’m writing this ahead of our flight to Jaipur which should give you an idea of what it’s like not just for RCB but any team.

So clearly, you don’t have much time to settle which means you have to train yourself to make a quick mental adjustment.

I don’t believe the wicket offers any more aid to the home team than it does to the visiting side. The wickets we have played on have all been pretty similar to the ones we played on last year and we won quite a few games away from home last season.

It’s really a case of how well and how fast you adapt and we know we are a side capable of doing that. We’ve come within a whisker in two of our away games and hopefully against Rajasthan today, we can go on to get that elusive first away win this season.

While you are always going to have to negotiate a partisan crowd when you are the away team, I have to say that the fans who booed Virat in Mumbai went too far.

He has done so much for his country and their behaviour towards him was totally unnecessary in my opinion. I totally understand getting behind your own team but it’s important to support your own people too.

I know this is a common occurrence in footballing culture but I’m totally against this creeping into cricket. That said, we know it’s going to keep happening as we move forward and we’ve just got to be strong minded about it.

An opportunity for RR to play the ‘bad’ host

It will aim to beat an RCB side that has won on its last three visits here

Home is where the heart is, they say. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals would probably offer a vigorous nod to the adage. After all, their success in Pepsi IPL-VI has been built on strong victories at home.

Look at RCB’s performance. It has suffered defeat in all of its three away contests but a 100 per cent success record in the remaining six glosses over the failure to win outside Bengaluru.

Rajasthan Royals are only slightly better. One victory in four away contests wouldn’t evoke a hubristic celebration by Rahul Dravid’s men. Though, four wins in four at the Sawai Mansingh stadium does bring a sense of pride in the team.

However, when the two meet on Monday, RR will be aiming to defeat an RCB side which has won on its last three visits here.

While the pre-match preparation by Dravid’s side will definitely entail a discussion on Chris Gayle, it were A.B. de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan who pulverised the host at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in the previous edition to lead their team to a 46-run win.

The West Indian, however, did shatter the RR attack on his way to an unbeaten 70 off 44 balls two years ago. Positively, for Dravid, Gayle has only scored 1, 4 and 18 in this season’s away contests.

The new ball does seam considerably at the Sawai Mansingh stadium and teams batting first have crossed 150 only once. On Saturday against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Dravid chose to field and RR managed to remove six of the opposition’s batsmen within the opening 30 minutes.

Monday’s game is also scheduled to start at 4 p.m.

While a Gayle onslaught may render the conditions irrelevant, RR possesses an equally destructive force in Shane Watson who has scored 101 and an unbeaten 98 in his last two innings.

The Australian’s compatriot James Faulkner has been similarly dangerous with the ball, picking up 16 wickets in six games.

When RCB met Dravid’s side at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium earlier in the tournament, the former scampered home to a seven-wicket victory. RR has an opportunity to play the ‘bad’ host on Monday.

Mumbai faces tricky Kings XI

Adam Gilchrist’s team has the talent and firepower to spring a surprise

Fortunes have swung dramatically in Mumbai Indians’ favour in the last few days of the Pepsi-IPL-VI.

Two wins on the trot against fancied teams — defending champion Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore — has placed it fourth in the nine-team table.

Its resounding victory over RCB on Saturday was a clear indication of its determination to get into the act quickly in pursuit of a play-off berth.

Mumbai Indians is now all geared up to tackle a tricky customer here on Monday in Kings XI Punjab which enjoys a 6-4 record. On current form the home team should start as the favourite, but Adam Gilchrist’s team has the talent and firepower to spring a surprise.

Strategic deployment

MI’s 10 points have come from the strategic deployment of the explosive West Indian stalwarts Dwayne Smith and Kieron Pollard at the opening and middle-order slots.

These two have already made a telling impact and walked away with three Man-of-the-match awards together.

Dinesh Karthik and Rohit Sharma have also demonstrated steel in their nerves, played an array of shots and made vital contributions to the team’s success.

While the likes of Pollard, Smith, Sharma and Karthik have been the side’s backbone, a brilliant catch by Ambati Rayudu against RCB showed why MI is a solid fielding side.

It was Rayudu’s well-judged catch without tripping over the line at deep mid-wicket that resulted in Chris Gayle being removed from the scene.

It is on such wonderful deeds being repeated that MI will rely to come up trumps.

Happy memories

KXIP captain Gilchrist is a seasoned campaigner and has happy memories of a rollicking century he scored against MI at the DYP Stadium in 2008, but well into his 42nd year, the left-hander is clearly a far cry from the days he used to destroy bowling of all variety.

Mandeep Singh, Manan Vohra, David Hussey and David Miller have been at times useful with the bat, but with only two half-century efforts from Mandeep and Miller in eight matches, KXIP will need to hit the big blows to compete against a team that played in fifth gear on Saturday night.